Brassiere-buckle.



B. F. OREWILER. BRASSFERE BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-18.1917.-

Patented May 28,1918.

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bnrrnn rarer onni l all up BENJAMIN FRANKLIN OREWILER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 KABO 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

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Specification of Letters .Patent.

Patented na 2e, ieie.

Application filed au ustls, 1917. Serial No. 186,904.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, 'BENJAMIN F. 01m WILER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new useful Improvements in Brassiere- Buckles, of which the fol'lowing is a specification.

' The present'invention relates toa hook or buckle attached to the end of a suspending strap, which inturn is secured to the lower edge of a brassiere. The buckle of the pres ent invention is for the purpose'of connecting'the' brassiere to the corset, andis an improvement on the construction shown and described in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,200,518, granted tomeOctober 10, 1916, for brassiere buckles.

One of the objects of'the present invention is to so configure the buckle as to enable it to be used with either afront lace or a back-lace corset.

Another object of the invention is to impart to the buckle a certain amount of resiliency in order that it may accommodate stud shanks of different diameters.

A further object of the invention is to so configure the buckle as to enable it to easily and quickly expand and contract, thereby enabling an easy placing and removal with respect to the stud shank.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a buckle of the kind specified, which is simple and cheap of construction and capable of use under all ordinary conditions.

The invention further'consists in thefeatures of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation showing a portion of a back-lace corset with the buckle of the present invention appliedthereto;

Fig. 2, an elevation showing'a portion of a front-lace corset with the buckle of the present invention applied thereto Fig. 3, a front view of the buckle detached;

Fig. 1, a rear view of the buckle, showing by means of dotted lines the buckle spread to allow the insertion of stud shanks of relatively large diameter; and

Fig. 5, a detail section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the art to which the present invention relates, in connection with an article of clothing knownas a brassier e, there is utilized ahook or buckle for the purpose of connecting the brassiere tothe corset, thereby holding the former in the stretched condition desired. These hooks are now made ina manner to enable them to engage with the stud shanks of back-lace corsets and-the lacings of front-lace corsets. The stud shanks will vary somewhat indiameter, and difficulty has been experienced in the use of such buckles with respect to theirholding power on stud shanks ofdifierent diametersi WllGIlllIELClG for shanks of maximum diameter, a shank of smaller diameter will be loosely engaged by the buckle, with the result that the buckle and stud will become separated. If made for a shank of small diameter, the larger sized shanks will betoo great in diameter to fit inthe slot of the buckle and, therefore, the buckle cannot be attached to the shank.

In my prior Patent, No. 1,200,518, above referred to, a design of buckle is shown which, by means of certain slots, was in tended to give resiliency enoughto allow for the use ofvarious sized shanks, but difficulty was found with this construction, in thatit was impractioalto use it with large sized shanks, owing t/othe stiffness of the spring action.

The present invention is an improvement of the construction set forth in my patent above referredto and is intended to elimi- The forming of this hook creates whatinay be terined a back portion 8 of the body and a top portion 9.

Formed adjacent the inner end of the back portion 8 are transverse slots 10 extending substantially across that end of the body, and these slots are intended to receive one end of a suspending strap connected to the lower end of the brassiere.

By forming the slots 10 so that they extend substantially the entire distance across the body, a relatively narrow web-12-is left between the ends of these slots and the edges of the buckle body. Communicating with the lowermost of th slots 10, approximately midway between it's ends, is 'a cross slot "13 which merges into a longitudinal slot 14.- of keyhole formation. Midway the ends of the slot 1 1 is formed a restricted portion15 produced by two oppositely disposed, inwardly projecting, rounded shoulders 16. The slot 14: in turn communicates with a slot 17 which extends to a point adjacent theendof the top portion 9. By this arrangement there is formed a continuous slot'insaid buckle composed of the lower slot 10 and the slots 13, 14 and 17. This gives a very openwork construction to the I buckle, and the walls of the slot 14 can give freely and easily, Working only against the tension of the narrow webs 12 between the ends" of the slot 10 and the edges of the body of the buckle.

This openwork construction has to do with the operation'of the buckle when used in conjunction with back-lace corsets, in which case the buckle is secured to the shank of the stud forming a portion of the connection at the front of the corset.

The shanks 18 of these studs 19 will vary in diameter and, accordingly, there must be a spring action on the part of the buckle in order that the slot in the buckle may accommodate studs having shanks of different diameters. In applying the: buckle to a stud shank, the head of the stud is inserted through the enlarged portion of the slot 14, and the buckle is then drawn-so that the shank passes by the shoulders 16. These shoulders are made slightly'closer together than the diameter of the smallest sized stud shank, and when; the shank is drawn by these shoulders, the walls of the slot 14 will bespread apart. The spreading action will be very easy, because it is only against the tension of the narrow strip of metal 12, and the shoulders 16 being at some distance from the said strips 12, there will be a considerable leverage action, causing an eas and free spreading of the Walls of the slot. After passing by said restriction, the shank of the stud restswithin the enlarged portion of the slot beyond the restriction Copies of this patent maybe obtained for and designated by the numeral 20. When the shank passes into the portion 20 of the slot 14, the walls of the slot will contract into normal position and the shoulder 16 will close up behind the shank, thus holding the'shank against accidental removal from the slot. The head of the stud will "lie beneath the top portion 9 ofthe buckle. By giving this resiliency to the body of the buckle, its application to various sizes of stud shanks is easy and the shanks will be held by the buckle in a manner to prevent aceidental disconnection between the buckle and shanks.

The formation of the hook 7 is for the purpose of allowing the buckle to be connected to the lacing cords of a front-lace corset, as shown in Fig. 2.

In connection with the passage of the shank by the shoulders 16, the pull exerted by the user in drawing the buckle into place will have a tendency to cause the walls of said slot to have a slight transverse movement with respect to one another, as well as a spreading movement. This action is shown in the enlarged detail of Fig. 5 and assists in allowing the shank to easily pass by the restriction. The buckle body formed as described therefore possesses a flexibility allowing a movement of the walls of the slot 14 both away from one another and transversely of one another.

- I claim:

A brassiere buckle formed of a body consisting of a single piece of spring-metal bent at one end to form a hook, the opposite end being formed with a transverse slot extending substantially thereacross to receive a suspending strap, said slot extending close to the side edges of the body to form a thin web at such points, said body being further formed with a lon itudinal slot extending from said transverse slot to adjacent the end of the hook, said longitudinal slot for that portion lying bcneath the hook being formed to receive a stud shank, and the walls of said slot expanding when the shank is inserted against the tension of the thin webs beyond the ends of the transverse slot. whereby the walls of said longitudinal slot may freely expand and contract for the purpose of ac commodating stud shanks of diii'erent diameters, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN OREWIDER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

